Talkback: Urban foxes

I, too have created a cottage garden from a patch of grass. It's in its third year now and is my haven. Being a novice, I don't know anything about dividing plants and it's been very hit or miss. But a joy all the same.
Can anyone tell me why a hardy geranium which was burgeoning last summer now has leaves which are turning red and very small flowers?
Also - a grafted aubergine plant bought earlier in the year is looking very sorry. What can I do to revive it?
Christine Lennon
Gardeners' World Web User

19 Jun 2010 20:36

You could try hot chilli powder to try and get rid of the foxes. I've recently had a fox problem and have suffered with neighbours' cat poo all over my garden too. Liberal sprinkling of hot chilli powder has stopped the problems. You do have to be persistent though (after rain and blocking up holes). It has also stopped grey squirrels digging up the flowerbeds/veg.
My own view is that these are wild animals and should not be encouraged by feeding.
Gardeners' World Web User

20 Jun 2010 12:36

Well I want to know if I can still plant cut flowers. If so what flowers can I plant now in pots? If you know please help.
Aged 10!
Gardeners' World Web User

I have a wisteria which flowed quite well for the first couple of years but I thought wasn't in the best place as it was a bit shady so we moved it to a South facing wall. It did really well the first year and then developed yellow/white leaves after it flowered (not dry and brown) and this year it only had 3 flower heads and the leaves are almost white again. Oddly the leaves seem quite strong but I assume it must be missing something. We topped up the soil around it's roots with new compost but still no improvement. Any suggestions please?

hi does anyone know where i can buy the spiral twister thing for holding plants upright that was shown on gardeners world show the other night fingers crossed someone can help thanks
Gardeners' World Web User

20 Jun 2010 16:22

hi susieq,you can buy them from any good garden centre or qvc [the shopping channel],also hampton court always sell them but thats if your going there...
hope thats of help.
Gardeners' World Web User

20 Jun 2010 23:00

WHERE ARE THE PROJECTS ON THIS SITE WHICH TOBY HAS BUILT AND SHOWN US ON THE SHOW IN SEE PROJECTS E.G FOR MAKING YOUR OWN COMPOST BIN, BUT WHERE IS THE ONE HE ACTUAllY MADE ON THE PROGRAMME AND OTHER THINGS... THANK YOU
Gardeners' World Web User

23 Jun 2010 09:29

Reply to everyone
I wrote this blog about foxes a few days ahead of its publication, before the news of the fox attack on those babies appeared. Whatever the rights or wrongs of feeding foxes, we always have to remember that they are wildlife and, by definition, wild, and therefore unpredictable. Although the handsome creature walking across my lawn looks regal and stately, it has a dog's mouth on it — large, powerful, full of sharp teeth. An adult fox is slight by domestic dog standards, but I would not want to mess with one.
I remember my father telling me how back in the 1960s, he was out walking in woods in deepest Sussex, when he found a fox caught by one of its legs in a gin-trap. These were unsentimental days when all land-owners regarded foxes as vermin. He tried to approach it, but was driven off by ferocious snapping and snarling.
They are remarkably agile too. In 1996, the flamingos in Buckingham Palace Gardens were all killed when a fox is thought to have scaled the 10-foot gates.
Gardeners' World Web User

11 Jul 2010 15:21

I live in a very rural place with many foxes who cause alot of havoc for chickens etc.
They are cunning creatures and to be wary of, the can turn quickly into a vicious animal.
We have recently had a van full of foxes released that were caught in urban areas which I cant believe anyone thought this was a good idea, these animals have been fed no doubt by people thinking how great they are, the foxes are now dying in the wild as unable to hunt.
Please dont feed foxes, keep them out of your gardens !
Gardeners' World Web User

22 Jul 2010 00:36

I am a bit puzzled by all these comments about how cuddly and loveable foxes are. They fight and scream most nights in my street, which I ignore. But last night when my son came home he could not get to the front door because three of them were on the doorstep having a nasty fight right next to the front door. He is a big burly chap and managed to chase them away (they did not run away on his approach, he had to chase them off) and they carried on their fight in the street. But I am only small. And quite frankly I do not want to make friends with them. What should I do to deter them from fighting on my step?
Gardeners' World Web User

26 Jul 2010 07:23

Reply to Mts Jackson
Unless you are encouraging foxes by feeding them, the chances are they will not be back.
Gardeners' World Web User

Has anyone got any ideas as how to stop rabbits eating new shrubs. We have recently planted the garden areas around our Church/ Conference Centre/Community Centre. Its on an industrial estate with 2 spare sites nearby. The rabbits would appear to come from the nearby large hill/woodland area. We have tried Dog/Cat/Rabbit deterrant spray which they are not supposed to like, but they still chew all the lovely shrubs. Help please ! Thanks.
Gardeners' World Web User

Reply to Bunny
I can only suggest fencing with chicken wire. It worked in Australia to keep parts of the country rabbit-free.
Gardeners' World Web User

28 Oct 2010 11:23

If you think foxes are frightened of humans, will try and escape when cornered etc, then come to Petts Wood! The well-meaning, but misguided habit of feeding them has made them tame to the point that they often actually stalk people walking with dogs on a lead! And they roam around at all hours of the day, not just at night time. I don't feed them myself and yet when I put my dustbin out one evening, a fox came right up to me and even sat down about a metre away, obviously waiting to be fed and would not respond to 'shooing'. Feeding them encourages dependence on humans and discourages their acquiring skills to fend for themselves, as they should be able to do. Beautiful as they are, they are still vermin. Would you feed rats?
Gardeners' World Web User

28 Nov 2011 18:40

IF the children were attacked by a fox, why did it go upstairs? Had the family been previously feeding it? All seems very strange. Why was it still there for the police to photograph? Fox taking the blame for family pet, perhaps?
If you look at any of the urban foxes around my way they stare back and the moment you glance away, they've vanished. The only time a fox cub came into our house it was TINY. We put it outside - in the morning we found it dead, it had been horribly bitten, possibly by a dog fox or a tom cat.
As for a cull, doesn't work. You take a fox out of its territory - another one moves in.
I'm afraid I do get cross when I hear that foxes have killed chickens or ducks in someone's garden. In the wild some of the birds would have escaped. In captivity they have not been made sufficiently secure from predators, and the fox is reacting to an unnatural environment from which the birds cannot escape. In those circumstances we need to blame ourselves, not our environment - take some responsibility. We lost our ducks to a fox years ago - OUR FAULT.

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